Kathryn Kernohan

This is your first season on the American Idol judging panel after appearing on The Voice last year. Are there many similarities between the two different jobs?

They feel very similar to me and I approached them in a similar way. I love the sense of camaraderie with the other guys, the panel [Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj], on Idol. Certainly, one of the things I loved about The Voice was the relationship between Seal, Delta [Goodrem], Joel [Madden] and myself. I loved it. I feel I was extra, extra lucky to have that as my first TV experience.

How have fans of the show received you?

They've been really nice and it's kind of odd, because I didn't think the way I am would really connect, I guess. I'm definitely not a big, over the top and dramatic type of personality. I'm glad people have felt that I'm doing my job properly.

American Idol devotees consider this year's talent pool one of the strongest to date, do you agree?

Having watched the show over the years, I don't remember seeing a top five that has been as strong as this year's group. Over the years Idol has been such a powerhouse at producing career artists, not just season winners, so hopefully this year we have that momentum.

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You picked up the ''Mr Nice Guy'' tag on The Voice, and it's stuck. Does it sit well with you?

Hopefully I'm Mr Authentic if anything. On shows like these, you have to be real with people and that may not always mean being as nice as that term would imply. To me, there's no real blanket way to critique people as all artists respond to criticisms differently. It's just about being as honest as I can in the moment, and it's so important not to crush them.

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You've expressed strong admiration for singers who put themselves through the reality show process. Why is that?

People forget that it's a really strange thing for them [the contestants] to try to be genuine and authentic and emote in front of a camera and a bunch of judges. It's not a natural environment, so I take all of that into account and have great empathy and respect for the singers. It may be easy for them to sing a heartbreaking ballad, but what a strange environment to be pouring your heart out to. [On Idol] they've got Mariah Carey sitting in front of them and some of these people do one of her songs. I'm amazed that anyone is able to do that.

You must have a great insight into how contestants' lives can change, both on and off camera?

The thing I never forget is that a lot of these singers are young - teenagers in some cases - and a lot of them have little to no live experience. We rarely take a step back and say, ''Wow, they're keeping it together pretty well'', considering the strange life they are thrown into. Suddenly these people are pretty damn famous. They've been plucked from obscurity, and now when they walk down the street, people know who they are.

When Idol approached you to join the show, did you jump at the opportunity or need time to consider it?

I didn't jump at it right away. The whole reason why I couldn't come back to The Voice was that I'm in a studio working on my new record, and going backwards and forwards from Australia to a studio here wasn't going to be practical. When I looked at how Idol worked, which is only Wednesday and Thursday nights, I saw I could travel from [home city] Nashville to Los Angeles and make it all work.